CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE NEWSROOM: JOURNALISTS’ EVOLVING STANDARDS OF OBJECTIVITY WHEN COVERING GLOBAL WARMING _______________________________________ A Thesis presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri-Columbia _______________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts _____________________________________________________ by SARA SHIPLEY HILES Bill Allen, Thesis Supervisor DECEMBER 2010 © Copyright by Sara Shipley Hiles 2010 All Rights Reserved The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the thesis entitled CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE NEWSROOM: JOURNALISTS’ EVOLVING STANDARDS OF OBJECTIVITY WHEN COVERING GLOBAL WARMING presented by Sara Shipley Hiles, a candidate for the degree of master of arts, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Assistant Professor Bill Allen, chair Adjunct Associate Professor Karon Speckman Assistant Professor Tim Vos Research Assistant Professor Jan Weaver I would like to thank my parents, Daniel and Sallie Shipley, for supporting my education from childhood onward. Because of your example, I believe that education is the best investment we can make in our children. I would like to thank my husband, Tom Hiles, for his love and encouragement on the long road to finish my degree. You have made all the difference. And to our son, Alex: Thanks for giving me the best excuses to take a break from work once in a while. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my thesis committee members for their scholarship and support. Bill Allen has inspired and impressed me since the day I met him years ago, and I was lucky he was willing to chair this committee. His attention to detail is impressive. Dr. Karon Speckman encouraged my thesis idea from its earliest conception and provided much practical help in its execution. Dr. Tim Vos helped me tame the confusion in my head surrounding journalistic objectivity and showed me the path to study it. Dr. Jan Weaver gave me insights from a scientist’s perspective. Thank you, all. I would also like to thank Bud Ward, editor of The Yale Forum on Climate Change & The Media, for reading a draft of this thesis and providing helpful comments. Finally, I would like to thank the 11 journalists who so generously shared their time and experience to participate in this study. It was delightful to talk to them. They exude passion and dedication, even in these hard times. Society is better for the work you do. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.......................................................................................................................ii LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................................vi USE OF TERMINOLOGY ................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1 2. PURPOSE AND RESEARCH QUESTION.............................................................................. 5 3. BACKGROUND............................................................................................................................. 6 4. THEORY ......................................................................................................................................... 9 a. AGENDA SETTING AND FRAMING...................................................................... 9 b. OBJECTIVITY..............................................................................................................11 c. DECONSTRUCTING “OBJECTIVITY” .................................................................17 i. QUOTING AUTHORITATIVE SOURCES..............................................18 ii. BALANCE.......................................................................................................18 iii. FACTICITY ....................................................................................................19 iv. IMPARTIALITY............................................................................................19 v. NEUTRALITY ...............................................................................................20 vi. AVOIDING OPINION IN NEWSWRITING...........................................21 vii. FAIRNESS......................................................................................................21 viii. STRAIGHT NEWS WRITING...................................................................22 ix. ADDRESSING CRITICISM ........................................................................23 d. TRANSPARENCY.......................................................................................................23 5. LITERATURE REVIEW ...........................................................................................................26 a. COVERAGE PRIOR TO 2005 .................................................................................26 iii b. CHANGES AFTER 2005 ..........................................................................................32 c. ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISTS......................................................................38 d. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE ................................................................................41 6. METHOD......................................................................................................................................44 a. QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS................................................................................44 b. ETHICAL ISSUES.......................................................................................................45 c. STUDY DESIGN..........................................................................................................46 7. RESULTS......................................................................................................................................50 a. TRENDS JOURNALISTS SAW IN CLIMATE CHANGE COVERAGE .......53 i. FROM CONTROVERSY TO CONSENSUS, MOSTLY.........................53 ii. FROM SCIENCE TO POLICY AND POLITICS .....................................57 iii. FROM GLOBAL TO LOCAL ......................................................................59 b. DIMENSIONS OF “OBJECTIVITY” ......................................................................60 i. QUOTING AUTHORITATIVE SOURCES..............................................60 ii. BALANCE.......................................................................................................63 iii. FACTICITY ....................................................................................................66 iv. IMPARTIALITY............................................................................................68 v. NEUTRALITY ...............................................................................................69 vi. AVOIDING OPINION IN NEWSWRITING...........................................70 vii. FAIRNESS......................................................................................................74 viii. STRAIGHT NEWS WRITING...................................................................75 ix. ADDRESSING CRITICISM ........................................................................76 c. TRANSPARENCY.......................................................................................................79 d. SUPPORT FOR A NEW FORM OF OBJECTIVITY............................................81 iv 8. CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................85 a. DISCUSSION................................................................................................................85 b. LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH................98 APPENDICES 1. APPENDIX I – INFORMED CONSENT DOCUMENT .................................................101 2. APPENDIX II – BACKGROUND QUESTIONS FOR STUDY PARTICIPANTS .....106 3. APPENDIX III – INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ..................................................................107 4. APPENDIX IV – CLIMATE CHANGE: THE SCIENCE AND POLITICS OF GLOBAL WARMING ..............................................................................................................................110 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................................112 VITA ........................................................................................................................................................121 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Across Partisan Lines, Fewer See Evidence of Global Warming............................... 3 2. Climate Change Is a Very Serious Problem .....................................................................28 3. Demographic Information .....................................................................................................51 4. Summary of Answers to Objectivity Questions .............................................................87 5. Journalists’ Changing Views on Objectivity.....................................................................88 vi USE OF TERMINOLOGY “Global Warming” vs. “Climate Change” The terms global warming and climate change both are used in this paper. Both refer to changes caused by